Arsenal cruised to a 4-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, leading Paul Merson to fire a warning to the rest of the teams in the competition.
In what was billed as a battle of defensive, tactical football between two managers who pride themselves on being tough to beat, Mikel Arteta made a mockery of the pre-match predictions as his side demolished Diego Simeone's men in an enthralling second-half at the Emirates.
Viktor Gyokeres ended a seven-match goal drought with a quickfire brace to round off the scoring, taking Gyokeres’ tally for his new club to five following his £58million transfer from Sporting Lisbon, where he scored 97 times in 102 appearances.
Speaking after the thumping win, Arteta challenged Gyokeres to keep the goals coming, with the north Londoners back in domestic action against Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday.
And Gyokeres, 27, said: “I’m more hungry now. You always want to contribute with work rate and other stuff, but when you score goals as well, it’s a bit special. So that’s something I always want to do.
gyokeres
“The group we have and the spirit is something different and something very special.
“When you win games and you do these performances, it builds confidence in the team. The belief has to always be there, but of course this helps to boost it. We just want to keep going like this.”
Arsenal's message to the rest of Europe
Gyokeres was not the only man receiving plaudits, as Merson was full of praise for Bukayo Saka during his commentary on Sky Sports, claiming he had Atletico stars like Koke "on toast".
And the former Gunners star believes his old team sent out a warning to the rest of Europe after accomplishing something that "no one" does.
"Arsenal and PSG, you look at them results if you're other teams around Europe and you go 'wow'.
"Wow, no one beats Atletico Madrid 4-0. Phenomenal. Alvarez hit the post a couple minutes into the second half, who knows if that goes in different game, but you can't take away from Arsenal.
"They just kept going and going and steamrolled them in the end, literally steamrolled them. I ain't seen an Atletico Madrid team like that for a long time, they looked lost. Literally looked lost, looked beaten up."
Arsenal have won their three games in Europe so far with as many clean sheets. Remarkably, Arteta’s men have conceded just three times – away at Liverpool and Newcastle and at home to Manchester City, with just one of those coming from open play – in their first 12 fixtures.
Goalkeeper David Raya, who has recorded five consecutive shutouts, said: “I give clean sheets the same credit as goals.
“If we’re keeping clean sheets, it’s going to make games easier to win. It’s really, really important for the whole team, not giving away that many chances and being very, very solid.
Premier League clean sheet rank 2024-25 - Raya (timeless)
“The depth of the squad is incredible. We have a lot of players who can play in two, three or four positions.
“(Mikel) Merino came on as a striker (against Atletico), but he can play as a number six, eight, or as a number 10, and that is the variety that the boss has and he is using it to our advantage.
“It gives us an extra level in training and in games, because if you are not at it you can lose your spot and everybody is on board with that.”
Arsenal will head into this weekend’s round of league fixtures with a three-point cushion over second-placed Manchester City. Defending champions Liverpool are a further point off the pace.